Mahfud MD: The Next Government Must Ensure Law Enforcement In The Field Of Independent Corruption

Will vice presidential candidate Mahfud MD while attending the Meet and Greet event withccapres Ganjar Pranowo in the Blok M area, Jakarta, Monday, October 23. (Tsa Tsia-VOI)

JAKARTA - Candidate for vice president (cawapres) number three, Mahfud MD said law enforcement officers, especially those in charge of eradicating independent corruption. They must be free from intervention efforts from other parties.

"The upcoming government must ensure that law enforcement agencies in the field of eradicating corruption are really given independence," Mahfud told reporters in Banten, Friday, December 1.

They must be independent to prevent efforts to intervene from the authorities and political parties. This is because many of them use their position to lobby so they don't get caught in corruption cases.

One of the institutions suspected of getting interventions, said Mahfud, is the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"In my opinion, the intervention to the KPK is not only from the president if it really exists. From others, as far as I have heard from the politics of political parties, from officials who lobby lobbying to interfere with law enforcement," he said.

In addition, Mahfud also said that corruption eradication agencies should get sufficient budget and be escorted while working. So, they can carry out their duties optimally.

Even though he talked about independence, Mahfud did not want to make assumptions about the adjustment of the law. Including, the KPK Law Number 19 of 2019 which is considered to weaken the institution.

"We haven't concreted about the law but concretely want to strengthen all law enforcement agencies. Like the Attorney General's Office, now it's very good compared to usual, five years ago, yes. Now it's measurable, the work is clear, the target is clear. That's a good goal for us to develop everything, "said the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam).

"The KPK, which was once successful, will increase again so that all law enforcement agencies are strong. We will explore how the law will be and so on," he concluded.